Steering-wheel spindle.



No. 792,276. PATENTED JUNE 13, 1905.

T. J. LINDSAY. STEERING WHEEL SPINDLE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 9. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Thomas J. Lindsay No. 792,276. PATENTED JUNE 13, 1905.

T. J. LINDSAY.

STEERING WHEEL SPINDLE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 9. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

3mm Thomas J. Lindsay War Patented June 13, 1905.

ATENT Erica.

THOMAS J. LINDSAY, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA,

STEERING-WHEEL SPINDLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 792,276, dated June 13,1905.

Application filed January 9, 1905. Serial No. 240,282.

T (017/ 1117110712, it may concern.-

%c it known that I, THOMAS J. LINDSAY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steering-\VheelSpindles, of which the following is a specification.

In the manufacture of automobiles and other similar vehicles eachsteering-wheel is carried upon a short horizontal stud or spindlesupported at its inner end on a vertical axis. Heretofore it has beencommon to make such a structure with an integral arm by means of whichit may be swung and to pivot it upon an independent vertical pin, thestructure being supported between the upper and lower members of avertical yoke secured to or formed integral with the connectingstationary axle. A structure of this kind is difIicult to manufacture,and it has been heretofore impractical to make the vertical pin integralwith the spindle.

The object of my present invention is to produce a construction in whichthe vertical pin maybe made integral with the wheel-spindle, thusincreasing the effective bearing length of the vertical pivot, and to soconstruct the parts that they may be easily made and readily assembled,the vertical bearing extending to the extreme ends of the yoke insteadof being merely the length of the vertical width of the spindlestructure.

A further object of my invention is to so arrange the parts that theoperating-arm and the arm to which the connecting cross-rod is attachedmay be placed in different vertical planes, thus providing a newstructure which is advantageous in a drop-axle structure.

A further object of my invention is to provide a construction in whichthe parts may be identical for the two sides of the vehicle, thus makingit possible to use the same parts for either left-hand or right-handsteering arrangement.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an embodiment thereof; Fig. 2, avertical section; Fig. 3, a plan; Fig. 4, a side elevation of adisassemblement of the yoke, the spindle structure, and the twoattaching-sleeves; Fig. 5, a disassembled perspective of one of theattaching sleeves and the cooperating yoke portion, and Fig. 6 a planwith the operat ing-lever removed.

In the drawings, 10 indicates the wheelspindle, from the main body 11 ofwhich extend in opposite directions the pins 12 12. The main body 11 isprovided top and bottom with parallel shoulders. At each outer end eachpin is provided with a squared portion 13, and beyond this is a threadedpin 14, the parts 12, 13, and 14 being preferably integral with theparts 10 and 11. The main body 11 is provided with a pair of parallelshoulders 11, (immediately at the base of the pins 12,) which fitclosely between the adjacent ends of the yoke members 15 15, which areattached to or formed integral with the fixed axle 16. Each yoke member15 is provided with a semicylindrical vertical socket 17, adapted toreceive one of the pins 12, and it also has a pair of lateralprojections 18 18, which are adapted to be embraced within lateral slots19 19, formed in a sleeve 20, which is also provided adjacent the slots19 With a vertical semicylindrical socket 21, which mates with andcomplements the socket 17. The sleeve 20 is provided with a pair of lips22, which are adapted to embrace the lateral projections 18, and at theouter end of the sleeve these lips are connected by a cross-bar 23,which is adapted to fit down behind a shoulder 24:, formed at the outerend of the rear side of the yoke member 15. Either of the squaredportions 13 is adapted to receive an operating-lever or a cross-bar arm31, the operating-lever 30 being preferably provided with a ball end30', by means of which it may be connected to any suitable or desirableform of steering-gear. The levers 30 and 31 are held in position bymeans of threaded nuts 32, which fit the threaded pins 14C and are heldin position by 'any suitable checking meanssuch, for instance, as acotter-pin 33.

In order to assemble the parts, the main body 11 of the spindlestructure is placed between the adjacent ends of the yoke members 15 15,and the pins 12 pass into the sockets 17. Thereupon the sleeves 20 areslipped endwise over the yoke members and the pins 12, thus completingthe bearing for said pins and securely holding the parts in positionwithout other fastening means. The arms and 31 are then slipped over thesquared ends 13 and held in position by means of the nuts 32. The samespindle structure and other parts are used for both sides of the machineand are absolutely interchangeable, the pins 12 being integral with themain body of the spindle, because the spindle and vertical pivot equalin length the entire length of the yoke, whereas heretofore the verticalhearing has only been of a length equal to the distance between theadjacent ends of the yoke. It is also possible, by reason of the pins 12moving with the spindle, to place the operating-arm 30 and the cross-rodframe 31 in different vertical planes.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a structure of the class described, thecombination, of a yoke provided with a pair of vertically-separatedmembers each having in its outer face a vertical semicylindrical socket,a spindle structure having a horizontal wheel-spindle and verticalpivot-pins adapted to enter the semicylindrical socket of the yokemembers, and detachable retaining-caps each provided with a complementalpin-receiving socket, and means for attaching said caps to the yokemembers.

2. The combination with a yoke having a pair of verticallyseparatemembers each having on its outer face a semicylindrical vertical socket,a spindle member consisting of a horizontal wheel-spindle and a pair ofoppositely-extending vertical pins adapted to lit the sockets of theyoke members with the main body of the spindle fitted between theadjacent ends of the yoke members, a pair of sleeved members eachprovided with a semicylindrical socket adapted to lit the pin, alongitudinal separable transversely inseparable connecting engagementbetween each sleeve and its yoke member, and means for holding saidsleeves in position.

3. The combination with a yoke having a pair of vertically-separatemembers each having on its outer face a semicylindrical vertical socket,a spindle member consisting of a horizontal wheel-spindle and a pair ofoppositely-extending vertical pins adapted to fit the sockets of theyoke members with the main body of the spindle litted between theadjacent ends of the yoke members, a pair of sleeve members eachprovided with a semicylindrical socket adapted to [it the pin, alongitudinal separable transversely inseparable connecting engagementbetween each sleeve and its yoke member, levers fitted on the polygonalends of the pins and serving to hold the sleeve members in position, andmeans for holding said levers on the pins.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at Canton,Ohio, this 4th day of January, A. D. 1905.

THOMAS J. LINDSAY. [L. s]

itnesses:

CHAS. (J. \VATTENBAUGH, J. L. FLOYD.

